Woman allegedly tortured by boyfriend breaks silence

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BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) -- A Bakersfield woman who was allegedly tortured by her boyfriend for three days says her injuries are healing, but she's not ready to forgive him until he "gets the help he needs." Eyewitness News is not identifying the victim, she spoke briefly Tuesday afternoon.

The victim told officers on Oct. 29 she woke up in the house she was sharing with Lawless on Balboa Drive, he accused her of stealing $3,500 and 300 pills -- and that set him off on a rampage.

The woman told police Lawless picked up a glass vase filled with glass marbles and hit her on the top of the head. "Lawless then sat on (the victim's) chest and began punching her on her face and head until she lost consciousness," court records say.

The woman told investigators when she came to, she was tied up in a small tent in the spare bedroom. She said that's where Lawless grows marijuana.

One report shows the victim told officers Lawless then dragged her to another bedroom, and tied her to the bed. That's where the woman says Lawless held a knife, threatened to kill her, and then stabbed her in the neck under her ear and on her lip.

At that point, the victim said Lawless returned with "super glue" and "glued the cut on the top of her head and the stab wounds."

That night Lawless reportedly untied the victim, but refused to take her to the hospital for medical care. The woman told officers for the next two days, Lawless continued to bite her, burned her with a torch used to smoke methamphetamine, and choked her with a rope.

"(The victim) stated that when Lawless was choking her with the rope he stopped just before she lost consciousness," the report reads.

The morning of Oct. 31 the victim reported Lawless untied her because it was her birthday. The woman said she slept much of the day, and while she believed she could have left the house, she didn't because she was "afraid that Lawless would find her and hurt her more."

That night, Lawless came back and got angry when he couldn't find his cell phone, according to the report. The victim told him she'd look for it, she ducked into a bedroom, and ran out of the house. By that time, it was the next morning.

The victim flagged down a neighbor, who let her call for help with his cell phone. Lawless was then also arrested.

According to the police reports, Lawless told officers he didn't injure the woman, that she'd been hurt by a relative. Lawless also said he used the super glue on her cuts to help her.

The court documents on the case include an officer's report about an incident in early October when the victim was apparently driving Lawless' car. The woman said they were arguing, and Lawless pulled her head back so she couldn't see to drive. Lawless then yanked the steering wheel to one side, the woman tried to regain control of the car, but it hit a parked car in a driveway.

The victim told an officer who responded that Lawless then 'shoved' her out of the vehicle, and he took off driving. At that time, the woman also reported that Lawless had injured her the week before when he struck her in the arm with a hypodermic needle.

Eyewitness News discovered Lawless had been arrested last June during an undercover operation on Union Avenue. Officers reported Lawless was dressed as a woman, and had offered to perform a sex act.

"I was shocked by that," the victim told said on Tuesday. "I never expected him to do something like that." She said that incident was before she knew Lawless, and she'd never seen any indication of behavior like that.

In the current case, Lawless faces felony charges of attempted murder, aggravated mayhem, torture, making threats with intent to torture, injury of a spouse/cohabitant, assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm, and drug possession.

Lawless is being held on $2 million bail, and he's expected back in court next week.

The victim also reported that when Lawless was using the super glue, he tried to glue her mouth closed. "Lawless was telling her that she was possessed by demons and the devil, and that she was making him do this to her," one report reads.

On Tuesday the victim said her injuries are starting to heal, and she thinks the charges against Lawless are too severe. The woman told Eyewitness News Lawless was a good guy. "I just want to remember the good days," she said.